


The Timestream Part Two

by kasviel



Series: The Timestream (Savior Continuum) [2]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:41:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26141272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kasviel/pseuds/kasviel
Summary: This is the second part of my background for my own Final Fantasy VII Alternate Universe. It is based on both Final Fantasy VII and the Final Fantasy VII Remake. As such, it contains spoilers for the entirety of FFVII and also spoils some elements from FF7R. Please do not read if you do not want spoilers for these games and upcoming Remake episodes! This is a story in which Rufus Shinra decides to bend time to his will, in the hopes of creating a continuum where his one true love can finally be safe and happy.
Series: The Timestream (Savior Continuum) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2008870
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

Just over two decades ago, the city of Junon had been a quiet, remote fishing village. During a time of bad fortune, the people of Junon were the first in the world to agree to allow Shinra, Inc. to build an underwater Mako Reactor just off their coastline. For a time, the fish flocked to its pull, and grew fat from its leaking Mako Energy. After this period, everything began to die and swim far from Junon’s coast. By this time, however, the Shinra military had developed housing for its growing army in the territory. They also constructed an elevated airfield as a waypoint between Midgar and farther territories. As the old city of Junon died, a new one rose from its ashes: a thriving, Mako-powered town of military families devoted to Shinra.

The Shinra Military Academy was the pride of the newer section of Junon. Located at the top of the high cliffs backing the town proper, it was the most elite school any future militiaman (or woman) could attend. Many of the best members of SOLDIER had began their training at the Shinra Military Academy, but it also offered the best courses in political science. Rufus Shinra attended the Shinra Military Academy with a focus on political science, with supplemental tutoring in business and mathematics. He also availed himself of the combat courses to keep his body strong. The future President of Shinra knew that he had to work hard enough to grow into the superiority of being a Shinra.

The school lay dormant during summer vacation. The sturdy building of white stone, turned beige by the sandy coastal winds, stood imperiously at the cliff’s edge. A long road wound up from Junon, snake-like, to feed into its large black parking lot. Behind the stalwart structure was an airstrip, towards which Rufus’s helicopter was now descending.

“Hey, sir, is this a good idea?”

Rufus turned to the pilot. Augustus “Gus” Murdo had also attended the Shinra Military Academy. During his first year, Rufus had befriended the older student when some boys decided to make fun of their names. The fight was brief and Rufus and Gus had lost, but they had formed a mutual respect. Neither one of them liked to fuss over friendship much, which suited their relationship. Gus had dropped out two years ago and Rufus had suggested the Administrative Research Assessment Exam to him. Gus had laughed until Rufus explained what the Administrative Research branch, also known as the “Turks”, actually did. By now, he was a full-fledged member of the Turks. Whenever Rufus needed something from the Turks, he often turned to Gus. His old almost-friend always demanded a little extra payment, but it was worth it; Gus was loyal to Rufus and knew how to keep a secret.

“I suppose we’ll find out,” Rufus said. “Bring us down.”

The scruffy pilot pushed his military cap higher on his forehead and guided the chopper down. The cap was completely incongruous with his black Turks uniform but he always wore it while flying. Once they landed, he tossed it off, setting his black hair on end. He was a handsome, strong, talented man, but his idiosyncrasies and disdain for authority had set him at odds with the strict Shinra Military Academy teachers. Rufus did not care how he lived his life, so long as he continued to be an asset to the company—and to Rufus personally.

“I don’t like it, sir,” Gus drawled, teeth working at his chewing gum. “I get caught doing this, and it’s ‘goodbye Turks’.”

One of Gus’s idiosyncrasies was to still use the military “sir” when addressing anyone he deemed either higher in status than he was or worthy of the title. He was grateful to Rufus for suggesting joining the Turks, and always addressed him thus. The man spit his gum into a cup full of similar wads and removed the aviator sunglasses from over his hazel eyes. He squinted out at his old school dubiously. The sullen expression that overtook his tanned features made him seem younger than his eighteen years. Rufus could almost picture him slouching at his desk, one cowboy-booted foot propped up on the desk’s frame. He had often been scolded for both his posture and his choice of footwear.

“Never thought I’d be back here,” he said. “Why _are_ we here? Are you really gonna break in?”

“Someone left something for me here,” Rufus said. “I can’t explain any more than that. Don’t worry about your job, I’ve covered our tracks well. And I’m paying you enough, aren’t I?”

“Can’t argue with that.”

Gus swung his long legs out of the chopper, unbuckling himself and jumping out in what seemed one swift motion. Rufus got out on the other side, circled around to join him. They looked up at their school momentarily. Gus was anxious but Rufus was amused by the novelty of intruding upon the grounds while no one else was in attendance. Without its throngs of students and its force of teachers, even this commanding building seemed sad and hollow. Rufus looked at his family’s signature in bold black lights, dark during the day, and reminded himself: _Shinra owns this place, too, and I_ ** _ **am**_** _Shinra._

The two young men circled around to the front of the building. Tall glass windows and doors gave the entrance hall a view of the ocean, now glittering in the summer sunshine. Rufus took out a tablet computer and turned it on. Gus waited, glancing around nervously.

“No one is here and no one is coming,” Rufus assured him. “If anyone saw the helicopter, they’ll just assume repairs are being done. No one ever challenges Shinra.”

“Hope not.”

Gus lit a cigarette and took a long pull. Smoke trailed from his mouth slowly. From the smell, Rufus guessed that it contained more than tobacco. He turned away from the smoke, wary of intoxication, and scanned the area with the tablet computer.

“Good, the security systems have been taken down,” he said. “All right. We can go inside now.”

Rufus walked up to the door. Ignoring a brief flutter of nerves, he pulled it open. They were admitted without issue. Gus did not put his cigarette out, puffing away anxiously. The smoke blended with the dust motes floating in the sunbeams. Rufus rubbed his nose and then sneezed. He gave Gus a look. The older boy stood back.

 _Old Rufus Shinra told me to go to the old chemistry lab,_ Rufus reminded himself. _The floor started getting uneven in that room a year ago and it was sealed off. They’re conducting tests on this entire cliff to make sure that it’s safe from collapse. Down below, construction is being done to reinforce the cliff to keep this school and the airfield safe. Old Rufus Shinra would remember all of this, and he would know that that chemistry lab is the perfect place to hide something. I guess we’re not in danger of falling into the sea today._

Their boots crunched the bits of sand that had managed to blow in from the cliff. The air smelled heavily of saltwater. Combined with the stiflingly hot air, it made Rufus almost giddy. Gus’s special cigarette was not helping.

“I should piss in all the offices,” Gus said. “Fucking teachers, playing at being soldiers when all they can do is order around a bunch of kids.”

“Those who can’t do, teach.”

“And those who can’t teach, bully,” Gus scoffed. “They’re hard in the Turks, but these teachers … something’s wrong with them.”

“All you had to do was follow the rules, Gus.”

“Nah, they hated me from the start,” Gus insisted. “I know why, too.”

Rufus glanced up at the taller youth. The swaggering self-confidence Gus had gained from joining the Turks was gone. His shoulders hunched and his posture was stooped. Rufus remembered the acne he had had back then, the stringy, flat hair that gave him a dour look before he cut it short and discovered gel. Rufus wondered if he would be that regressive when he turned eighteen. He hoped not. Then again, what would he regress _to_? He had forgotten what it felt like to be totally juvenile.

“Why did they have it out for you, Gus?” Rufus humored him. “I thought they just wanted you to get a haircut and stop wearing that hat and those cowboy boots.”

“My family is from Cosmo Canyon.”

Rufus sobered. Gus looked down at him and nodded.

“Yeah, I thought you would know,” he said. “The planetologists that started that new anti-Shinra group, AVALANCHE, they came from the Canyon. I mean, I guess it makes sense they suspected me, but my parents never cared about that shit. I sure as hell don’t, I love Mako Energy. Sorry I never told you, sir. I didn’t want you to fire me because of it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Rufus said smoothly. “You’re right. This place … is full of it.”

Gus laughed heartily. He finished his cigarette in one last long drag and tossed it on the floor. He stamped it out with the toe of his black snakeskin cowboy boot.

“That’s why I always liked you, sir,” he said. “You know how to act classy but you sure as hell know how to throw down, too!”

Rufus trusted Gus. He trusted him but he made a mental note to have the senior Turks give him a full profile of Gus’s parents, their activities, and Gus’s behavioral records. There was no such thing as being too careful, especially given reports that AVALANCHE had recently relocated to the stringently anti-Shinra territory Wutai. Rufus had his own concerns but he never forgot his legacy.

Gus was on his second cigarette by the time they reached the chain-link fence blocking the unstable section of the school. Rufus gave him a look and stepped aside. With an “aw man”, Gus withdrew his Turks weapon: an extremely sharp short-sword laced with corrosive acid. Two swipes ate through the gate and they ducked through.

“That’s very fine mythril,” Rufus observed. “I know the Turks don’t hand out weapons like that.”

“It’s a family heirloom,” Gus said, shaking the acid off with a quick motion, away from both of them. It hissed on the stone floor, leaving black marks. “Only worthwhile thing I inherited. I don’t usually pair the blade with poison but you said to be prepared.”

Rufus nodded. The air was so smothering in this section that Gus stamped out his cigarette, coughing. He took out a bandanna and tied it around his lower face. Rufus took a face mask from his pocket and slipped it on. Even with the facial coverings, the smell of the sea was overpowering.

“It’s like everything in the ocean just up and died here,” Gus said.

 _It probably did,_ Rufus thought grimly. _I’ve seen the data myself: the sea life around Junon is rotting due to the Mako Reactor. This is another price of progress._

The door to the old chemistry laboratory was not locked. They went inside and peered around. The fine wood of the desks and chairs was buried beneath layers of dust. Sand coated the floor, crunching under their boots. There was no sign of previous habitation.

 _Am I insane?_ Rufus wondered. _Was the vision of my elder self real? Or was it actually a nightmare_ — _or worse, a delusion brought on by grief? So much has happened in these past three days … My mother’s funeral, meeting Sephiroth, the vision of meeting myself from a possible future … Have I lost my mind entirely?_

Rufus kept his doubts to himself. Gus lit another cigarette as he searched the room. The air was clearer here due to a hole in the roof, so they were able to lower their masks. Sunlight shone down upon them mercilessly. Even with his cargo shorts and sleeveless shirt, Rufus was growing sweaty and exasperated.

A small creak alerted Rufus to his goal. He brushed sand and dust away from the floor. His impatience gave him just enough strength to break off the rotting floorboards. At last, he retrieved a large metal briefcase. Gus sauntered over curiously.

“Buried treasure, sir?”

“No, just data,” Rufus said. “We can go now.”

“You sure that’s it? There’s nothing else?”

“This is it. I know—”

_I know myself. I wouldn’t waste time on anything more elaborate than secure._

“I know.”

“You’re the boss, sir.”

Rufus had to field several phone calls before he could do anything else. His caregiver Amara Ami called from Midgar to inform him that his father was demanding to see him. Rufus called his father, apologized stiffly, and agreed to return to the city shortly. Rufus also had to call in to his sources to make certain that the security surveillance at the Military Academy had not picked up his illegal entrance; they had not. Finally, he called his bank and had the second half of Gus’s payment wired to his bank.

Rufus was dying to open the briefcase and uncover the secrets his future self had left within. But he was a practical boy. He had Gus fly him back to Midgar. The rest of the day was spent placating his furious father and getting an update on Sephiroth’s condition from Amara.

When he was finally alone in his bedroom, Rufus had to take a minute to lie still. He stared at the ceiling, sighing. Sephiroth’s fever had gone down but he was vocally unresponsive, even to Amara. Hojo had forbidden visitors yesterday and President Shinra had revoked Rufus’s access to the Scientific Research and Development Laboratory, as Rufus had expected. Amara was similarly barred.

Rufus showered off the dust and sand and salty smell of the sea. The hour was late but he could not rest yet. In a clean white pair of pajamas, he locked the door to his room and settled down with the metal briefcase. The thing was locked with a thumbprint reader and a numerical lock. Rufus used his usual numerical code and the thing clicked open. He smiled, thinking of his elder self still using his—their—old numbers. It was partly frightening and partly comforting.

_In another continuum, in another future, I existed. I existed for a while, at that._

The True Time Materia encased in Rufus’s platinum pendant began to glow beneath his shirt. He recognized the chill as a sign that the guardians of the Timestream, which his elder self had dubbed ‘Whispers’, were watching him disapprovingly. But Rufus knew that the True Time Materia would keep him safe from them. He could not be touched so long as he wore the strange materia that so resembled Sephiroth’s cat-like eyes.

The metal briefcase contained seven volumes of notebooks. Rufus recognized the penmanship instantly: it was his own neat, clear print. Every volume was numbered. He laid the books out upon his bed neatly. Beneath the foam padding holding the books in place was a large portfolio. The portfolio contained a world map with several clear overlays detailing changes and noting various things Rufus could not understand yet. Beneath the map were sheets of sketches and diagrams. Rufus decided to leave the complex imagery of the portfolio for last.

Rufus quieted the riot of voices and thoughts in his head. He removed the True Time Materia from beneath his shirt and held it in his hand. Finally, he laid down the first volume of his future self’s account, and cracked the book open.


	2. Chapter 2

Amara Ami was troubled. She had dutifully endured President Shinra’s scathing rebuke concerning her ‘negligence’ in guarding his son. She had fended off Professor Hojo’s attempts to bar her from seeing Sephiroth. She had done everything in her power to stabilize the situation before Rufus Shinra returned—and for what?

Rufus had returned shortly unharmed, but something had happened. He locked himself in his room and admitted no visitors, not even Amara. The most she had seen of the thirteen-year-old were glimpses when he took his trays of food from the servants. His blue eyes were too faraway to focus on her even once, ringed with dark circles. Amara could not imagine what could have caused such a change in the haughty heir of Shinra.

Perhaps worse than Rufus’s sudden isolation was the fact that she was totally cut off from young Sephiroth. She had told the boy everything Rufus had instructed her to say, but he had remained unresponsive. Although conscious, Sephiroth had been able to do nothing but stare vacantly at the ceiling, the last time she had seen him. Was he still catatonic? Or was he fully aware but utterly alone? She despised Professor Hojo from the bottom of her heart for imprisoning that strange, special little boy.

Amara reached her breaking point one week after their happy but ill-fated trip to the Sky Docks carnival. She worked up her courage one rainy afternoon and charged toward Rufus’s door. If he did not open it, she had learned how to pick locks from an old boyfriend. If she could not break in, she was resolved to break the door down. She could not allow this unsettling situation to continue any longer.

Right before Amara knocked, the door opened. To her amazement, Rufus Shinra stood before her. He was tall for his age, nearly her height, and their eyes met evenly. The warmth that Rufus had gained last week had chilled. Amara hated to see the coldness returned to his eyes after he had found so much youthful warmth.

“You weren’t there,” Rufus said. “In _his_ continuum, you weren’t a part of his life. Or Sephiroth’s. But he chose this one. He must have known you would be a help. Come in.”

Amara did not know what to say. She stepped into Rufus’s room, wincing when he shut the door loudly behind her. The lights were dim and the rain clouds dulled the daylight coming in through the windows. Rufus was clean, combed, and neat as ever, but his eyes shone with an unnatural intensity. A metal briefcase stood empty at the foot of his bed. Notebooks and documents were scattered across his bed and his desk. One wall had been cleared to make room for a large pinboard with many printouts and notes pinned to its surface, connected by strands of variously colored yarn. Above the pinboard, written right on the wall, was the phrase, “TIMESTREAM”.

“I know this looks insane,” Rufus said calmly. “I’ve questioned my own sanity many times. But the evidence is overwhelming. This past, incredible week, really did happen. Everything that the old man said was true.”

“H-huh?”

“You should sit down,” Rufus said. “I’ve been debating it, you know, whether or not to tell you. I wanted to keep it all to myself. Not even Sephiroth—no, _especially not_ Sephiroth—can know about all of this. But I think that I can trust you. If not … ”

Rufus shrugged. Amara sat down in the chair at his desk. Somehow, the boy sounded more adult than ever. His tone and inflections had changed, become as hardened as the look in his eyes. Yet there was still a flame of passion there. He had not shut down, but had been lit up.

“Do you know what the Lifestream is, Amara?”

“The … The planetologists believe that it is the continuous flow of spirit energy that sustains the planet,” Amara said. She kept her tone neutral, knowing the Shinra were anti-planetology. “It is part of ancient Cetra lore: people are born on the Planet, die on the Planet, and return to the Planet. The Lifestream is the collective pool of all that energy, it takes from death and gives to life, allowing the cycles of the Planet to continue generation after generation. Or so Cetra lore states.”

“Right, one continuous cycle,” Rufus said. “But why is it continuous? Why is it a linear continuum? Why is it that someone who dies this year is reborn the next year or the year after that? Why are they not reborn into the past?”

“I … I don’t know.”

“Because of the Timestream,” Rufus said, motioning towards the pinboard. “It’s so simple! But neither I nor the best physicists on the Planet every conceived of it! Like Mako Energy before Shinra discovered it, it’s surrounded us and guided us our entire lives, but no one has ever grasped its nature. Invisible but everywhere. _Everywhere_ , Amara.”

“But … this is all theoretical, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s true,” Rufus said. “I have the proof. No, don’t ask, I’ll get to that. The Timestream, Amara. The Timestream guides life along, it guides even the Lifestream. If the Lifestream is a river, then the Timestream is its current. It’s the current that drives living life along, too. That’s why we exist in linear time, despite our spirits being capable of traversing so many different points in time through memories and dreams and, sometimes, visions. The Timestream anchors us to linear time.”

“That makes sense,” Amara said. “But why is this so important to you now? I never thought you were interested in planetology.”

“I’m wasn’t, so long as it didn’t affect me personally,” Rufus said. “But I’ve been given … Later. I will explain that part later. I have to tell you the basics first or nothing else will make sense.”

“Um, okay. I mean, yes, sir.”

“The Timestream is the source of everything that we call ‘fate’ and ‘destiny’,” Rufus continued. “Sometimes, our souls rebel against the tethers of linear time: this causes mental illness, hallucinations, visions, all sorts of irregularities that are deemed unseemly. In the worst case scenario, some people have rebelled, mind and body, against fate and the Timestream itself. In those events, most often the rebels are destroyed by the only inhabitants of the Timestream: weird wraiths that my elder—er, that I’ll call ‘Whispers’.”

Amara was disturbed by Rufus’s complex ramblings. She wanted to disbelieve them. She wanted to easily explain all this away as being a part of a mental breakdown spurred by his mother’s death. But as obsessive as Rufus was, she did not think he was mad.

“Someone _did_ break through the limitations of the Timestream, however,” Rufus said. “Someone _did_ find a way through the Whispers. That person gave me this.”

Rufus reached into his shirt and withdrew a necklace. Amara recognized it as having been Mrs. Shinra’s, a piece she wore often. _Was_ this all the delusion of a grieving boy? Rufus came up to her and let her hold the pendant. It was made of platinum. A highly detailed wing encircled a materia of a particularly vivid green hue. Rufus slowly turned it in its circle, revealing a single black vertical line. Amara gasped.

“That looks like Sephiroth’s eyes!”

“This is one of the eyes of Jenova, the Calamity from the Skies,” Rufus explained. “Two-thousand years ago, a meteor crashed into the Planet. The meteor wiped out most of the Cetra, who are also known as the Ancients. Everyone knows that story and knows of the crater left by the meteor in the north. What few people do know, is that within that meteor was contained an alien life form, a life form so powerful that she was an even greater threat to the Planet than the meteor itself. That life form, was Jenova.”

“How did you end up with one of her _eyes_?” Amara asked. “I thought that was a materia?”

“It is,” Rufus said. “This is what the person who broke through the Timestream used: the eye of Jenova fused with pure spirit energy from the Lifestream. This is a brand new materia that could only exist in one possible continuum: the True Time Materia.”

“True … Time?”

“Yes.” Rufus squeezed the pendant in his hand. “Using this materia, that person broke through all the limitations of the Timestream, and traveled backwards through it to a singular point in time. In doing so, this person created an entirely new continuum: _this_ continuum. We are living in a continuum that is wholly apart from the rest, in a world whose future has not yet been written and that has been freed from the influence of the Whispers. Our future is entirely our own now.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I know because the person that broke through the Timestream, the person that traveled backwards through time itself, the person that created the True Time Materia—that person is me.”

Amara’s dark eyes widened.

“Not the ‘me’ you see here, no,” Rufus explained. “That man is the ‘me’ of another time continuum, practically of another dimension. In this continuum, he is long dead, but he spoke to me through the True Time Materia. He left that briefcase and all those seven notebooks for me, that was what I left Midgar to find.”

“This … This can’t be possible,” Amara said weakly. “People can’t just travel through time. It’s crazy!”

“I thought it was only a delusional nightmare at first, myself,” Rufus said. “But as I said, all this is the proof. The True Time Materia itself _is_ the proof. How else could I have an eye of Jenova’s when she sleeps, totally intact, right now in the Nibel Reactor? How else would I know that Sephiroth is the progeny of Jenova?”

“What?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Rufus said. “Why else would this eye resemble Sephiroth’s eyes so distinctly? Sephiroth is not fully inhuman, but he’s not fully human, either. He is a hybrid created from the cells of Jenova being infused into his womb by Professor Hojo.”

“How could anyone do such a thing to a baby?” Amara asked furiously. “How could _anyone_ think to experiment on an unborn child that way?”

“Because Hojo chose to be a scientist rather than a father, and Sephiroth’s biological mother followed suit.”

“You’re saying Hojo is his _father_?”

“Biologically, yes, but he doesn’t see him as a son, he sees him as his greatest experiment.”

“That’s horrible!”

“Yes,” Rufus said softly. He picked up a notebook and ran his hands over the cover. “He told me that Sephiroth is not a child, but a weapon. He lied. He knows that Sephiroth is far, far more than that. Sephiroth is something that should not be, an experiment that is anathema to life and the Planet itself. He is the greatest threat to this entire world, an even greater threat than Jenova herself.”

“He’s just a little boy,” Amara murmured. “That can’t be right. We know him, Rufus! He’s a lonely, isolated, sad little boy.”

“I know that!” Rufus exclaimed. “I _know_ that, but it doesn’t change the facts. In the future that my older self came from, Sephiroth nearly became a god. Some in that future think that he _is_ a god, a god of destruction, and there are cults that worship him. In that future, Midgar is no more. Thousands of people are dying from a disease caused by Sephiroth’s entering the Lifestream, Geostigma. That disease is what ultimately killed my future self. Sephiroth is poison to this Planet, there is no denying that.”

“It’s not his fault, though,” Amara said. “He never asked for any of those things to be done to him.”

“No, he didn’t,” Rufus agreed. “This is all the fault of Hojo. Regardless, the fact remains that Sephiroth is extremely dangerous—or, that he will _become_ dangerous, someday. No, that isn’t right. I should say that he has the potential to become a new Calamity. Remember, this continuum’s destiny is still unwritten.”

“Why didn’t your future self travel back in time and prevent Hojo’s experiment altogether?” Amara asked. “If Sephiroth had been born human, none of this would be possible.”

“Old Rufus Shinra explained that in here.” Rufus tapped the notebook’s cover. “That was his initial goal: to create a world where Sephiroth can live a happy, healthy human life. But it takes an incredible amount of energy to travel through the Timestream, as well as magical ability. Although Old Rufus had become very skillful, he was a dying old man. He could only use the True Time Materia to travel through the Lifestream but the once. He describes traveling through the Timestream as your life flashing before your eyes while you’re reliving it. It was very difficult and he was almost lost entirely. He could only travel by focusing on strong memories, desires, events, and people. In his extremis, he thought mostly of his—our—mother. So, he arrived in this continuum thirteen years ago, on the day that I was born. Shortly after, he disguised himself as an orderly and visited my mother and I in the hospital. That was when he gifted her this necklace, knowing that she would die this year and leave it to me.”

“Thus setting all of this in motion.”

“Yes, exactly.” Rufus tossed the notebook aside and sat on the edge of his bed. “Old Rufus also knew that I would meet Sephiroth on the day of my mother’s funeral. He knew that we would form a sort of friendship, due to my fascination with that boy. We both spent a pleasant summer with Sephiroth this year, Old Rufus and I. However, in Old Rufus’s continuum, he returned to school, and soon got caught up in many other events that distanced him from Sephiroth. They remained acquaintances but it was a tenuous, weak relationship. Old Rufus did not know how to deal with his feelings for Sephiroth so he shut them away, denying them even to himself. Sephiroth, being diffident by nature, never pushed for more attention. In three years, Sephiroth will join SOLDIER.”

“At thirteen? That’s too young.”

“By then, we will be at war with Wutai,” Rufus said. “Heidegger will grant Sephiroth special permission to take the SOLDIER Assessment Exam and of course Sephiroth will pass it. Due to his great skills, he will be sent to Wutai to fight for Shinra.”

“How awful. Er, I mean—”

“No, you’re right, it is awful,” Rufus said. “From that point, in his continuum, Old Rufus and Sephiroth drifted apart. Old Rufus always wanted him, of course, but it was a selfish, possessive kind of attraction. He wanted merely to own Sephiroth, or so he told himself, since he could not accept the fact that he was in love with him.”

Rufus cleared his throat, face a little pink.

“ _Old_ Rufus Shinra was in love with Sephiroth,” he said pointedly. “When he was young, he could not admit it, but he gradually came to realize it after Meteorfall. He admitted to me that he never loved anyone _but_ Sephiroth, even after all that Sephiroth had done in his world, even after the disease caused by Sephiroth destroyed him. He came back through time to plant seeds of hope for our continuum, all with the purpose of saving Sephiroth. He said that he could rest in peace so long as he knew that somewhere, in some time, Sephiroth was loved and safe and happy.”

“That’s … beautiful, really,” Amara said. “And you?”

“I love him,” Rufus admitted. “I suppose I don’t have any choice but to accept that, given all this. I don’t know if I will ever fall _in_ love with him. He’s only a child, I can’t really imagine it. I never intended to fall in love with another man, either. But the future is the future. Right now, I love Sephiroth as a friend, and I need to protect him.”

Amara smiled. Her mind was spinning from all of this but she could not bring herself to deny it. It was true. As insane as it all sounded, she had no doubts that it was true. Thinking about the future made her hands shake, however. She stood up and walked over to the pinboard, studying the notes. She tapped one.

“You mentioned this,” she said. “What is ‘Meteorfall’?”

“Sephiroth’s supposed destiny,” Rufus said darkly. “In Old Rufus’s continuum, Sephiroth used the Black Materia to summon Meteor. His intention was to destroy the planet and absorb all of its spirit energy, thus becoming a god. His plan was aborted by his destruction but not before Meteor wrecked all of Midgar. His immutable presence in the Lifestream, combined with Jenova’s cells tainting the population, caused the disease Geostigma. Throughout the years of Old Rufus’s lifespan, Sephiroth returned several times, though he was always defeated. Old Rufus does not know if he could ever truly be destroyed, or whether the Planet can ever fully be healed. Given that he was dying and could do nothing more for his world, he came back in time to give another continuum hope. And he entrusted me with that hope.”

“Do you really believe Sephiroth is capable of all this?” Amara asked. “Even when he does grow to manhood, he will still only be one man.”

“He won’t only be a man, though,” Rufus said. “He’s partially alien, Amara. His hair, his eyes, even his face, all are identical to Jenova. Obviously he looks nothing like Hojo, and he doesn’t resemble his biological mother much, either. That’s why his body temperature is always so cool, why his musculature is far tougher than an ordinary human’s, why his mind doesn’t function the way the human one does. As he grows, he will only become more and more powerful. That isn’t a problem in and of itself. But in Old Rufus’s continuum, when Sephiroth found out the truth of his origins, it drove him mad. He slaughtered an entire town full of people the day he found out the truth, Amara. It was little more than a tantrum but it took countless lives.”

Amara swallowed hard. She paced away from the pinboard, running her hands through her thick black hair. It was impossible to reconcile the image of such a monster with the little boy whose hair she had stroked, whose hand she had held while he was catatonic. But—

“When we brought Sephiroth to Hojo after that helicopter ride, he said something about ‘genetic memory’,” Amara recalled. “Is that what he was talking about? Is that what caused that fever? Sephiroth was sharing this thing Jenova’s memories?”

“It’s in his DNA,” Rufus confirmed. “Old Rufus found the remnants of Hojo’s files in the destroyed Midgar. Sephiroth suffered from night terrors in childhood, he would often be seized by a fit of memory and fall into a state like the one we witnessed. As he gets older, he’ll be more capable of overcoming the strange visions and urges, but they will never leave him. He is genetically bound to Jenova.”

“She fell here in a meteor,” Amara murmured. “Being up so high, it must have reminded him of her falling to the Planet. My god … ”

“He can’t ever find out any of this,” Rufus stressed. “The truth will only strengthen his bond with Jenova and lead him straight to her. His mind is very fragile, much more so than I even realized. He has to be protected.”

“How will you do that?” Amara asked. “This is so much to take in. And you are still a child yourself, Rufus.”

“Not just any child,” he said. “I am Shinra. It won’t be easy but I’ll have to use my status to protect him. Father is angry with me now, my access has been revoked, but … I’ll find a way. The first thing that I have to do is get Sephiroth away from Professor Hojo. Unfortunately Hojo is the greatest expert on the subject of Jenova, and Sephiroth, so I can’t just have him killed.”

“Rufus!”

“This is life or death, Amara,” Rufus said. “Do you think there won’t be times when I have to do something ugly for the greater good?”

“You sound like your father, when you talk that way,” Amara said. “What good can come out of you becoming like him? Or like Old Rufus Shinra? Didn’t he come here to make you accept your love for Sephiroth?”

“But he would not want me to be weak,” Rufus said. “Amara, before this goes any further, I have to know whether I can trust you or not. Can you keep all of this secret? Will you swear to me that you won’t ever, _ever_ tell anyone about this, no matter what happens?”

Amara met the boy’s deep blue eyes and froze. He was definitely not insane but it made little difference. In that moment, Rufus’s eyes were even colder than his father’s. His love for Sephiroth had not softened him, rather it had given him a reason to sharpen his already hard nature.

“And if I refused?” Amara asked. “Would you have me killed, Rufus?”

She was relieved that Rufus was startled by the question.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “But you would have to leave Midgar. I would regret it but you would be sent far, far away. I cannot risk Sephiroth finding out any of this. If he went mad during adulthood due to this, imagine what it would do to his ten-year-old psyche?”

“I would never hurt Sephiroth—or you, for that matter,” Amara said. “I want to help, especially now. I don’t know about the fate of the world or the future. All I know is that Sephiroth is only a young child and he’s in pain. I’ll do whatever I can. I’ll keep your secrets. I swear, I won’t betray either of you.”

Rufus studied her face and nodded. He extended his hand. Amused, she shook it.

“Thank you, Amara.” He smiled wryly. “Now … would you please assist me in taking all of this down?”

 _Ever the Shinra heir,_ Amara thought. Together, they dismantled the pinboard, filing all the notes into a portfolio. Rufus gathered the notebooks, portfolio, and all, neatly piling them into the metal briefcase. He snapped it shut and set the combination lock. Then he and Amara tackled scrubbing the word ‘Timestream’ off the wall.

“My first move has to be to get Sephiroth away from Hojo,” Rufus said as they cleaned. “Although the True Time Materia will protect me from Whispers, if I make a wrong move, everything could unravel. It’s going to be a very fine line to walk, changing the future. I have to be exceptionally careful and prepare to combat any potentialities that might set Sephiroth on the path of destruction.”

“That’s a lot to take on, Rufus.”

“If I didn’t believe in myself, Old Rufus never would have entrusted this to me,” Rufus said. “I can do it, and I will. It will be easier, of course, when I am President … but for now, I’ll have to regain my privileges. I think that I can remove Sephiroth from Hojo’s care and earn back my father’s trust in one move.”

“How so?”

“I have to discredit Hojo,” Rufus said. “I won’t get him fired, I need him to continue researching Sephiroth and Jenova. However, I need my father to realize that leaving Sephiroth in his care would be undesirable. This should prove easy, provided we can convince Sephiroth to help us.”

“Well, he doesn’t like Hojo anyway,” Amara said. “But last I checked, he was still catatonic. Besides, my access to him has been rescinded.”

“He should be coming out of it soon, if he hasn’t already,” Rufus said. “As for access to him, I have a plan for that. Are you prepared to back us up in this? We would need the word of another adult.”

“You want me to lie?”

“It’s only partly a lie,” Rufus said. “Hojo _is_ abusing Sephiroth, in a way, with all his tests and experiments. We simply need to exaggerate the level of abuse some, that’s all.”

“I have no sympathy for a father that treats his son like that,” Amara said. “I’ll do it.”

“Good.”

“But what will become of Sephiroth?” Amara asked. “He’s only known Hojo’s lab as a home. Where will he go? I don’t think that he would do well in an orphanage, he’s been so sheltered.”

“That would be a disaster,” Rufus said. “No, he won’t be going to any orphanage or care home. Shinra, Inc. has invested much in that boy already. If Heidegger knows about Sephiroth’s potential, then so does my father, given their closeness. I will convince my father that the best thing to do would be to take Sephiroth in himself.”

“You want him to adopt Sephiroth? Will he?”

“Not so far as adoption, no,” Rufus said. “But I think that my father might be convinced to let the kid live here as a ward of the family. Think about how well it would reflect on us when Sephiroth grows up to be a hero of SOLDIER; my father would love that, wouldn’t he? To have raised the next President of Shinra _and_ Shinra’s greatest hero? If I play to his ego enough, I think that I can convince him to do it.”

“Sephiroth living here?” Amara smiled. “That would be nice. That poor boy needs a real home.”

“You would be willing to care for him?” Rufus asked. “He always wanted a mother, I think he would appreciate a woman’s care. Besides, I still have school and all that.”

“It would be an honor.”

“You wouldn’t be frightened of him?” Rufus asked. “Knowing all that you know?”

“All of that happened in some other future, in some other continuum, right?” Amara pointed out. “Our Sephiroth is our Sephiroth. He isn’t a monster or a god, he’s just a boy. I won’t treat him any differently.”

“That’s good,” Rufus said. “It’s good, because I may have to. Old Rufus Shinra left me advice. I don’t know whether I’ll take it or not. It depends on Sephiroth, I suppose. You only have the barest idea of what he’s capable of. It will be good for him to be cared for by someone without all the knowledge that I have.”

“You shouldn’t let it affect you too much,” Amara warned. “Our future _is_ unwritten. Our Sephiroth _is_ different. Don’t treat him like he’s a monster. He’s a smart boy, he’ll feel it.”

Rufus nodded but said nothing. There was no way that he could not treat Sephiroth differently, knowing all that he knew. Old Rufus Shinra had meticulously analyzed Sephiroth’s mental state during all the stages of his life, and left the results in the seventh notebook. The profile painted a disturbing picture of a difficult, arrogant, mentally unhinged demigod. Rufus had already seen signs of arrogance in Sephiroth. He would be forced to cull the good traits from the bad, somehow.

“The One-Winged Angel.”

“Hm?”

“One of Sephiroth’s many legacy titles,” Rufus said. “Old Rufus Shinra used that term several times: the One-Winged Angel Sephiroth. He drew sketches of the transformation Sephiroth underwent in the final stage of his original plot. He was … frightening … but exceptionally beautiful. My One-Winged Angel … ”

Rufus went to his window and parted the curtains. He watched Midgar’s life zoom to and fro down below. His fingers spun the True Time Materia in its one-winged circle around and around.

 _I hope that this doesn’t become an obsession,_ Amara thought uneasily. _It is better for Rufus to admit his feelings than deny them, but I never thought he would feel this deeply. What is it that they say? ‘Still waters run deep’? All I wanted was for him to let himself feel, love, be human … I hope that I won’t regret what I wished for._


	3. Chapter 3

Sephiroth came out of his catatonia after two days. By then, even Amara Ami had stopped visiting him. He remembered what she had told him while he was unresponsive: that Hojo had revoked both her and Rufus’s access to the labs.

_I’m alone again._

Sephiroth considered how he felt about this. On the one hand, he could go back to his training. Going out with Rufus had been an interesting new experience, but he saw little of use in their activities. He could have gone his entire life without needing to learn how to ride a chocobo or buying street clothes. On the other hand …

Sephiroth sat up and removed the little black-coated cat keychain from the bars of his steel-frame cot. It was a useless thing but he often held it in his hands. He almost smiled when he held the little plush cat and thought back to his day at the carnival. Why was he so fond of that memory? It was, technically, all a waste of time. Yet, he could not stop remembering so many small moments: Ms. Ami ridiculously running that big plush chocobo back to the car for him, Rufus guiding him by the hand, the crowd cheering for him after he had ridden the green chocobo, the taste of fried food (he had never eaten it before then), Rufus telling him that he was more than a weapon.

Sephiroth felt moisture on his face and touched his cheek. Water. Why? He followed the track up to his eyes. Was he crying? Why would he cry? The only time it ever hurt inside this way was when he thought of his mother, the one he had never seen, and imagined what she might have been like. Why would he cry over going to a stupid carnival?

Nevertheless, the tears came, and he could not stop them. Sephiroth curled up in a ball on his bed, burying his face in his pillow. Small gasps escaped him, but that was all. The plush keychain remained clutched in one fist tightly.

“Soldiers don’t cry,” he murmured to himself. “They don’t cry, they don’t cry.”

Heidegger had told him that once, a long time ago. Sephiroth did not know how old he was back then. He remembered being shocked by a blow from his trainer, falling to the gym’s hard wooden floor with his face stinging. The trainer had started to apologize (he had slipped while feinting) but Heidegger told him not to bother.

_‘He’ll have to learn how to take more than that, if he’s going to be in SOLDIER. Get up, boy. Don’t you know? Soldiers don’t cry.’_

Sephiroth sat up, wiping away his tears. He considered throwing the keychain away. It would be best if he forgot about Rufus Shinra and Ms. Ami altogether. There was no point in thinking about things that were not meant for him.

“Sephiroth? Sephiroth!”

Sephiroth looked around. The door to his room was still shut. He climbed down from his bed and went to his bureau. He pushed it aside, revealing a vent. Two hands removed the grate, which Sephiroth left unscrewed, and Rufus Shinra climbed into the room. The boy’s white slacks and shirt were smudged with dust and grease. He brushed himself off to no avail. Sephiroth stared at him in shock.

“Lock your door,” Rufus ordered. “Don’t worry about surveillance, I had the systems taken down.”

Sephiroth locked his door and returned to Rufus. He did not know what to say. Rufus stared at him and then drew him into an embrace. Sephiroth stiffened instinctively. Then, he relaxed, and hugged the older boy back. Tears threatened to return.

“I didn’t think I’d see you again,” he said. “I—I’m sorry about the helicopter, I don’t know why I got sick. I—”

“It’s not your fault,” Rufus said. “ _None_ of this is your fault, Sephiroth.”

Sephiroth began to cry again. He hated himself for it but the tears refused to stop. Rufus sat down on the floor, cradling the kid on his lap as if he were a toddler. He did not tell him to stop even once. He held him patiently, waiting the episode out.

Rufus slowly began to forget all that he had learned of Sephiroth’s possible future. The slight boy in his arms was no One-Winged Angel, no new Calamity. This child knew nothing of the Black Materia or Meteor, he did not even suspect the truth about Jenova. This Sephiroth, _his_ Sephiroth, was still innocent.

“You were right about the vents,” Rufus smiled at the boy. “They _are_ bad for security.”

Sephiroth laughed shakily. He wiped his eyes and sniffled. Ashamed of himself, he stared down at the keychain still clenched in his hands. Rufus ruffled his hair gently.

“I don’t have too much time, Gus is pretty jumpy about helping me out in the HQ,” Rufus said. “But I wanted to see you myself. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Sephiroth said. “Sometimes I have episodes. I’m sorry that I ruined our day, Rufus.”

“It’s not your fault,” Rufus insisted. “And I don’t think that Hojo is equipped to take care of you. He isn’t fit to take care of you. That’s why I needed to talk to you.”

“About Hojo?”

“Yes. I don’t think you should live with him anymore.”

Sephiroth’s round green eyes blinked. He chewed his bottom lip.

“But where would I go? I don’t have any family,” he said glumly. “There’s no one … ”

“Sephiroth.” Rufus turned his face up by the chin. “How would you like to live with me?”

“What? With you?”

“Well, with my father and I, and with Ms. Ami,” Rufus said. “I told you before, Shinra has invested a lot in you already. You’re going to be a great hero of SOLDIER one day, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Then, it only makes sense that you receive the best care and upbringing,” Rufus said. “Our family can provide that. No, don’t argue. You will repay us when you make the company proud. It’s not charity, Sephiroth, it’s an investment.”

“And your father wouldn’t mind?” Sephiroth asked. “I’ve never met the President before.”

“He’ll be proud to raise a future hero,” Rufus said. “Believe me, once he understands the situation, he won’t mind. He’s rarely even home anymore, anyway. Amara—Ms. Ami—would be your caretaker. You like her, don’t you?”

“She’s nice.”

“So, would you like that? To come live with us?”

“Yes,” Sephiroth said wonderingly. “Yes, I would.”

Rufus checked his watch.

“Good!” he said. “Good. Then, there is only one thing that I need you to do. All right? Listen—”

Sephiroth listened to his instructions with a serious expression. Rufus did not need to repeat them, the boy understood everything immediately. Rufus got to his feet, Sephiroth climbing off his lap. He held the kid by the shoulders.

“I’ll be seeing you in a few days,” he said. “I told you, I won’t ever abandon you. Do you believe me now?”

“Yes.” Sephiroth frowned. “But why?”

“Because you’re my friend, kid.” Rufus ran a hand through the boy’s hair. It still smelled of plain soap. “And you’re worth more than any of these idiots know, even Hojo.”

Rufus gave him a smile and headed back towards the vent. Sephiroth grabbed his sleeve to stop him. He turned back, surprised at Sephiroth’s contact.

“Thank you.”

Rufus patted his head. Someone started banging on the door. Rufus hurried into the vent and Sephiroth replaced the cover. He then pulled his bureau back in front of it. He made sure that his face was dry and pocketed the keychain. No sooner had he climbed onto his bed than Hojo came in, having used his keycard to unlock the room. He glanced around suspiciously.

“Why did you lock the door?”

“I’m not in the mood for company.”

“Tch. Don’t be smart-mouthed with me,” Hojo said. “There was a security outage. Am I supposed to believe that was a coincidence? Who was here?”

“No one.”

Hojo pushed the bureau aside and kicked the vent’s cover. The grate fell off, clattering to the floor. Sephiroth met his gaze evenly, not the least bit ashamed. Hojo scowled but there was a glint of admiration in his eyes.

“Did you think that I didn’t know about this?”

“Did you think that I didn’t know that you knew?” Sephiroth shot back. “I know that you have cameras in my room, _Professor_. Since you never said anything, I figured that you didn’t mind.”

“I won’t limit your curiosity, even if it does make you a troublesome brat,” Hojo said. “Are you sure that no one was here?”

“No.”

“So you locked the door because you were crying?”

Sephiroth shut his eyes in frustration, cheeks turning pink.

“Why were you crying?” Hojo asked. “Did you have another nightmare?”

“No. I was just upset. I’m fine now.”

Hojo walked up to him. Roughly, he tilted Sephiroth’s face up to his own. He turned the boy’s face one way, then the other, and placed a hand to his forehead. He released his face and took his wrist, two fingers taking his pulse.

“Well, you seem fine,” he admitted grudgingly. “If you feel all right, then stop wasting time blubbering about pointless things. You’re better than that.”

Sephiroth stared at him. Hojo shifted on his feet, a bit unnerved.

“What is it?”

“Someday … ”

“What?”

“Someday, I will be in SOLDIER,” Sephiroth said. “Someday, I won’t ever have to see you again.”

“Is that so?” Hojo said, unimpressed. “Well, until that day, you behave yourself. You don’t want me to have to lock you in here again, do you? And next time, I _will_ seal off that vent.”

Sephiroth continued staring at him coldly. Hojo snorted, partly amused, partly unsettled. He left muttering to himself.

“I won’t ever,” Sephiroth said softly, “have to see you again, _Professor_.”


	4. Chapter 4

Rufus was as good as his word. He painstakingly constructed a narrative that exonerated him in his meddling with Sephiroth’s upbringing, in which Hojo was secretly abusing the boy. Rufus made it clear to his father that if Hojo continued to raise Sephiroth, all of the boy’s potential and training would be wasted; he would end up burning out before he could ever prove himself in SOLDIER. Amara Ami backed Rufus’s story up, confirming that Sephiroth was being maltreated. Being the adult, she was able to subtly hint at darker motivations behind Hojo’s intentions for the boy. President Shinra cared little about Sephiroth’s welfare but if he hated anything, it was a waste of Shinra money, all of which he considered _his_ money. He was also aware that word leaking out concerning Sephiroth’s abuse could be a Public Relations nightmare for the company.

Rufus carried out his argument for taking in Sephiroth over the course of a few days. He casually mused that raising a future war hero may be good publicity for the Shinra family. Since his mother’s death, he knew that President Shinra was worried about his public image; there were rumors that he had impregnated a mistress and he had no wife to quell the buzz. Mrs. Shinra had been the bridge between the President and the public, humanizing him no matter how deeply he hurt her in private. With her sudden departure from life, a charitable distraction would be a worthy way of silencing the rumors. Once Rufus planted the seeds, he needed only to wait and watch while the idea took root in his father’s mind.

So it happened that four days after Rufus had reunited with Sephiroth, the President, Rufus, Amara, and several security guards stormed Hojo’s laboratory on the 66th Floor of the Shinra Building. They barged into a medical examination room altogether. They found Hojo tending to a battered Sephiroth, who wore only a thin hospital gown. Even the President’s eyes narrowed upon seeing the boy: for once, Sephiroth looked fragile, especially when he turned his bruised face to them. Rufus almost spoke out but he refrained from comment.

“Then, it’s true,” President Shinra said. “Hojo. You ask for years of funding and training for this one child, only to treat him this way? You promised me a weapon, all I see is a broken little boy. Ms. Ami, take him.”

Amara rushed forward. She helped Sephiroth down from the table and took him by the hand. Sephiroth had the sense to keep his face neutral but his green eyes were joyful. Hojo grabbed him by the wrist before she could lead him away.

“What are you doing?” Hojo asked, bewildered. “What is this? Mr. President, I don’t understand. Sephiroth is my project! Where are you taking him?”

“We’re taking him away from you,” Amara said, putting an arm protectively around the boy. “You’re never going to hurt him again!”

“Hurt him?” Hojo echoed dully. “Hurt him? What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb!” Amara snapped. “Look at him!”

“What? Those bruises?” Hojo asked. “I was just asking him where he got those bruises! You think that I would do something like that to _him_? Don’t be an idiot! I’m no brute that would beat a child senselessly! Besides, we’ve already learned his pain threshold from his training sessions.”

“You’re disgusting,” Amara sneered. “Let him go. Now!”

Hojo tried to pull Sephiroth back but Amara held firm. There was a brief tug-of-war over the boy until Sephiroth yanked his arm away from Hojo. Amara led him behind President Shinra, to Rufus’s side. Rufus frowned down quizzically at the boy. Sephiroth shot him a very quick half-smile.

“Give him back to me!” Hojo shouted. “Sephiroth is _mine_! Mr. President! You don’t know what you’re doing! No one understands that boy the way I do! No one! You won’t do anything with him except ruin him!”

“I will raise him to be excellent,” President Shinra said. “Look at my own son. I thought that he had been acting out due to his mother’s death, but he was only trying to protect Shinra interests. These two boys are the future of the company, and I will raise them to be perfect avatars of Shinra, Inc..”

Hojo turned to Rufus. He flew at him but was held back by the security guards.

“You! This is your doing!” Hojo screamed. “You little fool! You don’t know what you’re doing! You don’t know what Sephiroth _is_! You’re going to ruin everything! My greatest experiment! My greatest achievement! YOU’LL RUIN HIM! YOU BASTARD!”

“Don’t you dare speak to my son that way!” President Shinra boomed. “You’re lucky that you don’t lose your job, Hojo. Say another word, and you will, and then you will never have access to Sephiroth again.”

Hojo glowered at Rufus but managed to hold his tongue. Rufus smirked smugly, putting a hand atop Sephiroth’s head.

“That’s better,” President Shinra said. “You have done much for Shinra, Hojo, I won’t deny that. And you do know more about this boy than anyone else. You will be allowed to retain your position at the company. With supervision, you may even continue to perform your routine examinations of Sephiroth, and study his data. But you will not be raising him. Clearly, you’ve failed to do so properly.”

“I never touched him!” Hojo insisted. “I never did! Sephiroth, tell them! Tell them the truth!”

Sephiroth met Hojo’s eyes directly. Whatever he saw in that green gaze, it deflated Hojo. His shoulders slumped.

“Sephiroth,” he pleaded uselessly. “Don’t do this.”

“He hit me,” Sephiroth said. “He’s cruel to me. He’s always cruel to me. I hate him.”

Hojo’s worn features tightened further in pain. His eyes continued to plead with Sephiroth. Rufus could have sworn he saw hurt in the professor’s eyes. Was there some shred of paternal affection there after all? Rufus felt no sympathy for him. Hojo had made his choices and now, finally, they were coming back to haunt him.

“We’re leaving,” President Shinra said. “I’ll warn you only once, Hojo: if you try to interfere with Sephiroth, here or outside Shinra, you will lose everything and never see the boy again. Is that clear?”

Hojo shook off the guards and straightened his lab coat. His eyes swept from Sephiroth to the President to Rufus. He stared at Rufus for a long time. The guards stood ready to grab him again.

“Yes, Mr. President,” Hojo finally sighed. “I understand.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

They left Hojo alone in the exam room. President Shinra was busy so he left the rest to Amara and Rufus. They brought Sephiroth back to his laboratory room for the very last time. When they were alone, Rufus immediately took the boy’s face in his hands.

“Did Hojo really hit you?” he asked. “Where did you get these bruises?”

“Oh, I threw myself down a ventilation shaft,” Sephiroth said. “It was convincing, wasn’t it?”

“I never told you to hurt yourself,” Rufus said. “You didn’t need to go that far.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Sephiroth shrugged. “I wanted to make sure.”

“Well, it did work,” Rufus admitted. “Go change into your street clothes. Pack whatever you want to take with you. You won’t be coming back to this room ever again.”

Sephiroth did as he was told. Amara stood by Rufus. When Sephiroth was in the bathroom changing, she gave Rufus a worried glance.

“He threw himself down a shaft?” she said. “Kids don’t … do things like that.”

“He’s used to pain from his training, so I suppose he didn’t see it as a very big deal,” Rufus said. “He’s a cunning boy.”

“A little too cunning.”

“Hm.”

Sephiroth returned in black jeans and a long-sleeved, loose shirt. Rufus watched him as he packed up his books into a large laundry sack. _Is this the right thing?_ Rufus wondered. _He looked at Hojo with so much smugness … Does he expect to be able to do whatever he wants now? No, I’m being paranoid. I can’t let Old Rufus Shinra’s future cloud my sight of the present._

Sephiroth plucked down the cat keychain from his bed and pocketed it. Amara smiled, glad he had kept it. Sephiroth looked around his room and then approached the picture of the meteor above his desk. He plucked it off the wall and stuck it inside one of Professor Gast’s books. Rufus wished that he had forgotten it. He knew exactly which little girl had drawn that picture now. It was eerie that Sephiroth had put the drawing in Gast’s book, given the fact that the picture’s artist, Aerith, was his daughter.

 _Aerith would be … five years old now,_ Rufus thought. _If this continuum resembles Old Rufus’s as closely as he believed it does, then just this year Shinra soldiers gunned down Aerith’s mother. Aerith must be with her adoptive mother in the slums now, mourning her biological mother, the very last pure-blooded Ancient. Strange, that both Aerith and I lost our mothers this year. Two such different women, returned to the Planet …_

“All set?” Amara asked Sephiroth. “Do you have everything?”

“Yes.”

Amara took the bag for Sephiroth, hoisting it over her shoulder. Rufus put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. They left the boy’s old room, none of them looking back.

Sephiroth was quietly content while they drove the short distance between the Shinra HQ and Sector 0’s singular residential district. He watched out the window and looked all around once they exited the car. He had to lean his head back to look all the way up at Shinra Tower, the tallest building in the district. He stared unblinking at the tower, eyes round.

“The Shinra Penthouse Suite takes up the top two floors,” Rufus explained. “We have a private gymnasium with the best equipment, so you’ll be able to continue your training. There is a swimming pool on the roof—do you swim?”

“No. I’ll learn.”

Rufus chuckled at the boy’s determination. He and Amara led him into the building. Amara used her keycard to access the exclusive Shinra elevator, its golden doors sliding open silently to admit them. The lift quickly brought them to the topmost floor, opening onto a richly carpeted hallway. They were greeted by grand double doors of dark wood, each with a Shinra logo metal plate above a doorknocker. Amara used an old-fashioned metal key on the door and let them in.

Rufus removed his shoes and Sephiroth followed suit without being told. Amara slipped out of her heels and into house slippers. They first went to the room Rufus had had prepared for Sephiroth, right next to his own room. Amara set Sephiroth’s bag of meager possessions down.

Sephiroth raised his eyebrows as he walked around the spacious room. Given Sephiroth’s height and serious nature, Rufus had furnished the room with adult furniture. The furniture was ultra-modern, black steel and glass, but thick leather cushions provided comfort. There was a double bed, a desk and chair, two wide bookshelves, a mini fridge with water and Potion drinks, a gym mat with a training dummy, and a table big enough to eat at or play games on (though Rufus doubted Sephiroth was one for board games). The blinds covering the wall of windows in the back of the room were left open to a sprawling view of Midgar.

“You do promise not to break the training dummy, don’t you?” Rufus teased.

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?” Sephiroth said. “No, I’m not going to break anything.”

“So, do you like your room?” Amara asked. “Do you think you’ll be happy here?”

Sephiroth shut the door to the en suite bathroom after taking a look inside. His eyes traveled the space. For the second time, he smiled that natural, ingenuous smile.

“Yes!”

Amara laughed and clapped her hands. Sephiroth dragged his bag over to the bookshelves and began placing his books in them in meticulous order. Rufus came closer in time to see that they had been put in perfect alphabetical order.

 _Old Rufus Shinra said that his mind doesn’t work the way most people’s do,_ Rufus thought. _This might not be only due to Jenova, however. Both of Sephiroth’s biological parents were genius scientists, and Hojo is definitely erratic to say the least. These feats, large or small, mental or physical, are never done to show off, they simply come naturally to him. I have to remember not to make a big deal out of them. He doesn’t like to be fawned over, he only likes simple approval._

Sephiroth fetched a Potion from the mini fridge. Rufus guided him out to give him a tour of the entire penthouse. Amara trailed after them. The few servants that were busy cleaning or cooking did their best to remain neutral but their eyes kept turning to the silver-haired boy. Whenever Sephiroth turned to meet their gazes, they hurriedly looked away. Sephiroth remained indifferent to them, as if he had been born an heir like Rufus.

 _Then again, why not?_ Rufus reasoned. _I’m sure that Hojo has taught him to ignore lesser staff members in the lab. Sephiroth will fit in well here with that attitude._

They spent the most time in the gym on the secondary level of the penthouse suite. Sephiroth shrewdly looked everything over with the gravitas of a seasoned pro fighter. He deemed it adequate with a small, slightly bloodthirsty smile. Despite his new freedom, the boy was still set on being in SOLDIER.

 _Old Rufus said that isn’t something that can be changed,_ Rufus thought. _He believed that without an outlet for his natural destructive tendencies, Sephiroth might be repressed to the point of insanity. That was_ his _Sephiroth, though. What if this boy is different? I should probably try to coax him into other activities, later._

Sephiroth was taken with only one other room: the grand library. He went through the room delicately running his finger down the spines, pausing to take note of books he was interested in. He was very satisfied when Rufus told him that he could read whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

The morning was still young. Sephiroth was too amazed at his new life to decide what to do with himself. Rufus suggested that they go up to the rooftop pool. They changed into swim shorts and took a small elevator up. The sun was high in the sky and the air was hot. Amara did not change, opting to watch them from the shade of an umbrella-protected table. She was happy to simply watch the two boys be young boys. The both of them existed under entirely too much pressure, in her opinion.

Sephiroth watched Rufus swim across the pool a couple of times. Impatient with instructions, he jumped in. Unlike most activities, he did not instantly take to swimming. Rufus swam under to retrieve him, lifting him up with an arm under his shoulder. It took a little while before Sephiroth was comfortable in the water on his own. Rufus instructed him until Amara called them out for lunch.

“I’ll have to practice here more often,” Sephiroth said.

The boy’s long hair had fallen over his eyes but he made no move to brush it back. Amara knelt before him, brushing it away with her hand. Rufus was drying himself off with a towel.

“How can you stand all that hair in your face?” Amara wondered. She grabbed a towel and dried the long, light strands. “Next time, I’ll tie it back for you.”

Sephiroth shrugged indifferently. They sat at one of the tables, umbrella shielding them from the sun, while she went to fetch lunch. Sephiroth was relaxed but looked thoughtful.

“What is it?”

“That.”

Rufus looked down. He was so used to wearing the True Time Materia pendant that he had forgotten about it. Since he usually wore it under a shirt, this was the first time that Sephiroth had seen it. Rufus leaned over the table enough for Sephiroth to see the pendant. Sephiroth leaned his face very close, spinning the materia around. He paused when he saw the black slit (pupil). One finger ran across the singular wing again and again.

“That’s nice,” he said. “Is it a materia?”

“No. It’s only supposed to look like a materia.”

Rufus did not know why he lied. Old Rufus had never warned him against letting Sephiroth see the materia. Yet instinct told Rufus to not let Sephiroth know it was a materia. Sephiroth did not seem to care. He stared and stared at the thing, expression unreadable.

“My mother left it to me,” Rufus explained. “It was the last gift that she ever gave me. It’s very special to me.”

“One wing,” Sephiroth murmured. “Why only one?”

Rufus had never questioned the pendant’s design but now he realized that it had been designed after Sephiroth’s future title: the One-Winged Angel. _Old Rufus really did become obsessed with Sephiroth. Am I falling into his obsession? Or forming my own? Everything has happened so fast. I’m still not completely sure of myself._

“I don’t know.”

“Hm.”

Amara returned with two plates of food. Sephiroth released the pendant and sat back down. Rufus pulled on a robe, more to hide the pendant than anything. When Sephiroth had touched it, it had grown cold.

President Shinra had little interest in raising any children, whether his own or not. He believed that those with an important image to uphold must force others to work for their approval, whether blood-related or not. He remained aloof from his son Rufus, and was relieved the boy was strong enough not to mind the distance.

Still, the President was curious about the silver-haired research specimen that would now be sharing his penthouse. He knew that Sephiroth was the result of the Jenova Project, the most successful of the experiments involving the mysterious alien being found in the North Crater years ago. At first thought to be an Ancient, it had turned out that Jenova was in fact the Calamity from the Skies, who had fallen to the Planet inside a meteor two-thousand years ago. President Shinra was disappointed that Sephiroth was not an Ancient and could not speak to the Planet; he had hoped the boy would lead them to the legendary Promised Land of Ancient lore, where he planned to build a new city using the Promised Land’s limitless Mako Energy: Neo Midgar. However, Heidegger championed the boy’s uncanny strength, so the President had kept him at Shinra in hopes he would grow to be a great member of SOLDIER.

For the first time in months, President Shinra went home to spend the night at Shinra Tower. He arrived too late for dinner, not being inclined to eat with the others. He checked in on Rufus, who was writing in a notebook so intently that he did not even notice the intrusion. Leaving him to it, he went next door to Sephiroth’s room.

Sephiroth was in black pajamas, sitting at his desk. Amara Ami, the boys’ caregiver, was brushing his long silver hair. Sephiroth was reading a book that the President recognized as having come from their library. Upon further inspection, he was surprised to see that it was a treatise on military tactics. Was the boy pretending to be gifted, or was he actually as brilliant as Hojo had always claimed? He certainly seemed to be reading the book without pretense, rarely even blinking.

“These products smell really good,” Amara was saying. “That’s much better, your hair isn’t so heavy anymore. See? It doesn’t even tangle.”

Sephiroth ignored her. President Shinra cleared his throat. Amara set the brush down and got to her feet, bowing to him. Sephiroth used the book’s attached ribbon to mark his place and closed it. Then he stood and looked up at the man. President Shinra stared down at him, pondering the weird little boy. He could not deny there was something unsettling about those vivid green eyes with their vertical pupils.

“How are you?” President Shinra asked. “Have you settled in yet?”

“Yes, sir.”

 _At least he’s respectful,_ the President thought appreciatively. He lifted the boy’s face by the chin, studying him. _But I can’t tell if it’s genuine respect or an act. How is such a young boy so unfathomable? He is strong, though, if Heidegger is impressed by him. He is also exceptionally beautiful. If he doesn’t change, he will be quite useful for propaganda; men will want his approval, they will want to copy him, and women will be smitten. This is not a face that one forgets. But will he stay loyal to Shinra? That is my primary concern. Someone like this could be a boon or a curse, depending on whose side they end up on. Will he know his place?_

President Shinra walked around the room. He stopped at the bookshelves. He removed a volume and thumbed through it. His eyes narrowed.

“Professor Gast’s works,” he remarked. “You knew him, didn’t you?”

“Yes sir.”

There was the slightest hitch in Sephiroth’s voice. President Shinra glanced at him. Sephiroth’s face remained neutral but there was something sad in his eyes. _Gast raised him before Hojo took full control of the Jenova Project. I suppose that bond hasn’t completely eroded, even after the man’s death._

“Professor Gast was a brilliant man,” the President said. “However, his studies were planetology-adjacent. Do you believe in planetology?”

“It is … a nice idea,” Sephiroth said carefully. “Being born of the Planet, living on the Planet, returning to the Planet. Professor Gast thought that there was a Promised Land, too. He asked me about it a lot, but I don’t know about that. It would be nice enough to die and be a part of the Lifestream.”

President Shinra was impressed by how calmly Sephiroth addressed issues of life and death. Most children could not contemplate their own end without bursting into tears.

“What about Mako Energy, then?” President Shinra pressed. “Later planetologists have come to use Gast’s work to excuse their anti-Mako stances. They claim that the Mako Reactors take in spirit energy from the Lifestream at too fast a rate, and are killing the Planet. Do you also believe that?”

The President saw Amara tense out of the corner of his eye but he knew she would not be insolent. Sephiroth remained as cool as ever. His composure was uncanny. He paced up to the bookshelf, looking up at his books and then at the President.

“I like Mako Energy,” he said. “Professor Gast does claim that it comes from the Lifestream. That’s why he sought the Ancients, because they were able to channel spirit energy without using any technology at all. But the Ancients are gone and Shinra is here. It would be unrealistic to limit the future for the sake of the past.”

President Shinra’s eyes narrowed. _Is this child really ten years old? How can he speak so eloquently?_

“Besides.” A strange little smile played on Sephiroth’s lips. “It _is_ an entire planet. If a few Mako Reactors are enough to kill it, then it isn’t much of a planet, is it?”

President Shinra stared down at the boy, who met his gaze unflinchingly. He could sense Amara’s tension. An awkward silence seemed to freeze the moment in time. Then, President Shinra burst into laughter.

“I like the way you think, boy!” he exclaimed. “That’s a good one, we may even be able to use it for a campaign. Well, it seems my son found a worthwhile ward. Behave yourself and keep to your training, and you can stay here until you join SOLDIER. If there is anything you need, just ask Ms. Ami here.”

“Yes sir.”

President Shinra squeezed his shoulder and left, content. Amara bowed until the door had closed behind him. Then she let out a heavy sigh of relief.

“He was—”

“Testing me,” Sephiroth finished for her. “I know. He’s the President. He would be a fool if he let a stranger into his home without determining their loyalty first. But I meant what I said. I don’t have a problem with Mako Energy.”

“You really have considered everything, haven’t you?” Amara asked. “You’re very smart, Sephiroth. Your reading level is already good enough for university.”

“Adults can be very annoying,” Sephiroth said. “It’s best to understand what they’re talking about, or they’ll keep treating you like a kid.”

“You are a kid, Seph.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Sorry.”

Sephiroth returned to his desk and sat down. He opened his book again. Not knowing what else to do, Amara continued brushing his hair. When she was done, she tied it back with a silk ribbon for bed. Sephiroth glanced back but did not protest.

“I think it’s about time for bed,” Amara said. “Do you need anything else?”

Sephiroth shook his head, once again marking his place and shutting the book. He hopped down from his chair and made his way to his bed. Amara ran a hand over his head, smiling at him. A bittersweet pang of memory stabbed her heart as she recalled tucking in her deceased little brother so many years ago. She went to kiss the boy’s forehead but he turned his face. She put the covers over him instead.

“Do you want the nightlight left on?”

“No.”

“Goodnight, Sephiroth.”

The boy was silent. She went to the door and turned the lights off. Behind her, she heard a small, tentative,

“Goodnight, Ms. Ami.”

Pleased, Amara shut the door. She went next door to Rufus’s room and knocked. Rufus called permission for her to enter. He was freshly showered and in pajamas. She was amused to note that the two boys had opposite tastes in clothing: Rufus’s pajamas were white, while Sephiroth’s were black. That was good, she thought. People often benefited from influences opposing their own nature.

“How is Sephiroth?” Rufus asked immediately.

“He’s doing very well,” Amara said. She dryly added, “He’s passed your father’s little test. Did you coach him?”

“My father is here?” Rufus asked. “No, I didn’t expect him to care enough to meet Sephiroth. What did he want? What did they say?”

Amara recounted the conversation. Rufus considered it carefully, pacing to his own wall of windows. He opened the sliding doors between them and stepped out onto the balcony. Amara followed him. The night sky was drowned out by the lights of Mako-powered Midgar. Traffic flowed ceaselessly nearby on the main roads. The air was cool and smelled slightly of Mako.

“Well, it’s good that my father has taken a liking to him,” Rufus said. “However, Amara, there is one more thing that you should know about the future.”

“Yes?”

“Shinra, Inc. _is_ killing the Planet.”

Amara’s eyes widened.

“Sephiroth is my primary concern, and he is the greatest threat to the Planet,” Rufus said. “But the planetologists, AVALANCHE, they’re all right about Mako Energy. The Lifestream is being depleted year by year, the depletion rate increasing as more of the world consumes more and more Mako Energy. I’m too young to do anything about it now. I have to focus on becoming an exemplary heir to Shinra so that I can be let into the Shinra hierarchy as soon as possible. I have to raise Sephiroth to be as human as he can possibly be. But someday, I will have to change the future of Shinra itself. That is the second legacy that my elder self left to me: to protect the Planet and all its people from the damage that Shinra is causing.”

“Is that even possible?” Amara asked. She motioned out at all of Midgar below. “The world has moved forward in such large strides, so quickly, thanks to Mako Energy. People are totally dependent on it. That’s why even I … ”

“You’ve chosen to look the other way from what Shinra did to your grandfather.”

“The Turks don’t miss a thing, do they?” Amara said. “It’s true, I gave up. There is no fighting Shinra. When I was offered the job of caregiver, I thought that I would use your family to earn the money they owed my family, nothing more. But I can’t treat any child as if they’re a tool. Even after you blackmailed me that cruelly … I never blamed you. You were raised a certain way, to think certain things. All I felt was sadness. Don’t look at me that way, I could never pity you, you’re too proud for that. The situation was depressing, that’s all.”

“And now I’ve changed.”

“You’ve changed so much since that day,” Amara agreed. “I think sometimes that too much has been placed on you. And now you’re saying that you have to move the entire world away from Mako Energy? How will you do that?”

“It’s a problem to leave for later,” Rufus said. “I’m too young to get involved in geopolitics. Expressing any interest in planetology or AVALANCHE could cause me to lose everything. Old Rufus made the mistake of being caught in double-crossing his father, and was sent away from Midgar for a long time. I _cannot_ afford to be forced out of Midgar. This is the center of everything, and Sephiroth is here now. There will also be the Wutai War beginning in two years. I can only watch things for now.”

“Is there anything that I can do?” Amara asked. “I am the adult in all this, Rufus. I’ve been known as a jack of all trades, that’s what allowed me to be hired as your caregiver. But I’m sure you’ve already read my resume yourself.”

“You’re proficient in many things,” Rufus said. “But I need you to focus on Sephiroth, too, for now. It would be too dangerous for you to take a risk while I’m still this young and powerless. I need you here. I need an adult that I can trust. And Sephiroth accepts you, too. I don’t want him to feel that someone else has abandoned him.”

“You’re right,” Amara sighed. “Sephiroth needs stability more than anything right now. I think that you do, too. But I will keep my ear to the ground. Let me at least do that for you.”

“Yes, we should have as much information gathered as possible,” Rufus said. “I’m working on obtaining a secure computer to compile as much data as possible. For now, we’ll have to keep to vocal communication only. I’ve also hidden the briefcase with Old Rufus Shinra’s information. Once I can compile all of that information on a secure machine, I’ll have to burn it all.”

“You would do that?”

“Why not?”

“It’s just … I don’t know.” Amara shrugged. “They’re invaluable, aren’t they? Communications done by hand by your future self? Wouldn’t you want to keep them?”

“I’m not sentimental,” Rufus said. “My elder self would understand. Why do you think that no one has ever found his body?”

“H-his body?”

“If anyone found the body of a man whose DNA and fingerprints matched mine, infected with an unknown disease, it would be disastrous for this continuum,” Rufus said. “My elder self _was_ dying, but he controlled his end. He weighted himself down and jumped from the cliffs outside Junon’s Shinra Military Academy. I imagine he’s only bones at the bottom of the sea by now.”

Amara’s face twisted in shock and disgust. Rufus smirked.

“Should it bother me?” he asked. “It’s strange, I will admit that. But it’s only another shell of a life. And his life was not _my_ life. My life is my own.”

“S-still … ”

“Too creepy?”

“Yeah.”

“Then take it as a testament to his love for Sephiroth,” Rufus said. “A symbol of his devotion to saving the only one he ever loved.”

“Er.”

“Still creepy?”

“Yeah.”

They shared a chuckle, Amara shaking her head. They stared out at the city below. Rufus leaned an elbow on the steel balustrade and rested his face on one hand. _The way he stares out at Midgar is proprietary,_ Amara thought. _This city is his birthright and he knows it. With that look on his face, I can well imagine him taking charge of Shinra and guiding it towards a better future. He’s already planning, no matter what he says, I know he is. But even with the True Time Materia, destiny laughs at human plans. I wonder if he’s aware of that … or if he cares. I suppose all he can do is what we all try to do: prepare for all potentialities. But can he live a real life while doing that? It’s such a heavy burden for a thirteen-year-old …_

“Well, I suppose I should remind you it’s time for bed,” Amara said. “Although truth be told, I don’t feel much like the adult, talking to you. Is it too unprofessional to say so?”

“I don’t want anything but honesty,” Rufus said. “I never tolerate disrespect, but I need you to be honest with me. It is a lot of information to disseminate, even for me. And you’re a caregiver, you have a better way with people than I need to.”

“I suppose _you’ll_ always be honest,” Amara smiled, “except when you’re not.”

“Heh.”

“Bedtime.”

“I’ll go in in a minute,” Rufus said. “Goodnight, Amara.”

“Goodnight, Rufus.”

Amara left him on the balcony. Rufus watched the city for five more minutes, then went inside, locking the door behind him. He turned off the lights, leaving the curtains drawn to let the glow of Midgar in. He climbed into bed and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling.

 _There are so many seeds to plant,_ he thought. _I have so much to do, step by step. I wish that I was older, but it can’t be helped. I’ll have to move very subtly for now. Still, there is so much to do. AVALANCHE, Mako, my company, and … Sephiroth …_

Restless, Rufus climbed out of bed. The apartment was quiet, the hallway lights dim. He went next door to Sephiroth’s room and let himself in. He stood over the boy’s bed, looking down at him. Sephiroth was asleep, his breathing soft and even.

_He looks innocent like this. What does someone like him dream about? Meteors falling from the skies? Going to the carnival? Nothing at all? I wonder …_

Rufus rested his hand on Sephiroth’s head. He suspected that Amara had been the one to tie his long hair back for the night. Sephiroth did not stir.

 _Can Amara and I raise him to remember his humanity? If we fail, what will happen? Will it come down to a choice between this boy’s life … and the Planet itself? All of our lives, or Sephiroth’s? Old Rufus lived through that choice. Despite all of his power, the power of Shinra, Inc. itself, he could only watch while others made the choice for him_ — _the choice to live, the choice to save the Planet … the choice to destroy Sephiroth. Then he was crippled by disease, and had to go on watching Sephiroth die over and over … For years, he watched this truly perfect being … be destroyed over and over._

Rufus took one of Sephiroth’s hands in his own. Despite his constant training, his palm was not calloused. His fingers were long, elegant, but still fleshy with youth.

_So much blood stained these hands in another future. The blood of thousands. He is still alive, still partly human, and so very small compared to the man he’ll become. He cannot die, but we could contain him. We could seal Sephiroth and Jenova away in the North Crater, bury them for all time. That would be the most moral choice: to make certain that the Planet-destroyers are sealed away forever._

As if sensing Rufus’s thoughts, Sephiroth frowned and shifted. Rufus squeezed his hands more tightly.

_Don’t worry, Sephiroth. We Shinra are not bound by morality. We take what we want. What do I want? I will be handed this city and the company and the world, someday. So what could I possibly want to seize?_

“The future,” Rufus said softly. He ruffled Sephiroth’s hair. “I want to seize the future— _our_ future.”

_Whatever he is, I still believe that he is perfect. What was done to him was cruel, but he is still Shinra’s greatest creation. Shinra has come to control the very Lifestream itself. My elder self created the True Time Materia to manipulate the Timestream itself. So what will I do? Cower in fear of this child and Jenova? Of course not. I will find a way to channel his pure destructive force into something … if not good, then at least manageable. If his power can’t be used at all, I’ll find a way to free him from it. He deserves more than the future he had in Old Rufus’s continuum._

Sephiroth stirred and opened his eyes. Even in the dark, they were vibrant. Rufus smiled at him, stopping him from sitting up.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said. “I heard that you met my father. Don’t worry if you don’t like him, he isn’t around very much, anyway.”

“I can work with him.”

Rufus chuckled softly.

“All right. Well, it’s gotten late. Go back to sleep.”

“Mm hmmm.”

“Goodnight, Sephiroth.”

“Mmmm.”

Rufus pulled the sheet over the boy and left him.

_I can see a future free of Mako Energy, where you and I are happy. Perfection may not be possible, as Old Rufus wrote, but I will strive for it regardless. I will do everything that I can to make good on the seeds of change planted by my elder self. In another lifetime, I_ **_**died** _ ** _for this. I won’t make the same mistakes again._

_Sephiroth, I will save you._

_My One-Winged Angel._

** **~ Fin ~** **


End file.
